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Reductive dechlorination in recalcitrant sources of chloroethenes in the transition zone between aquifers and aquitards

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Abstract

In the transition zone between aquifers and basal aquitards, the perchloroethene pools at an early time in their evolution are more recalcitrant than those elsewhere in the aquifer. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the biodegradation of chloroethenes from aged pools (i.e., pools after decades of continuous groundwater flushing and dissolution) of perchloroethene is favored in the transition zone. A field site was selected where an aged pool exists at the bottom of a transition zone. Two boreholes were drilled to obtain sediment and groundwater samples to perform chemical, isotopic, molecular, and clone library analyses and microcosm experiments. The main results were as follows: (i) the transition zone is characterized by a high microbial richness; (ii) reductively dechlorinating microorganisms are present and partial reductive dechlorination coexists with denitrification, Fe and Mn reduction, and sulfate reduction; (iii) reductively dechlorinating microorganisms were also present in the zone of the aged pool; (v) the high concentrations of perchloroethene in this zone resulted in a decrease in microbial richness; (vi) however, the presence of fermenting microorganisms supplying electrons for the reductively dechlorinating microorganisms prevented the reductive dechlorination to be inhibited. These findings suggest that biostimulation and/or bioaugmentation could be applied to promote complete reductive dechlorination and to enhance the dissolution of more nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPL).

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the Catalan Water Agency and to the members of INTERFREN of Figueres and INTECSON S.L. of Reus for their support and cooperation while conducting the fieldwork. We would also like to thank our colleagues of the Department of Geochemistry, Petrology, and Geological Prospecting of the University of Barcelona and especially the members of the hydrogeology group of that department. We are grateful to the Scientific-Technical Services personnel of the University of Barcelona for their help in analyzing the samples. We would also like to acknowledge the institution funding the research conducted within the following projects: CTM 2005-07824 and CGL 2008-02164/BTE (Spanish Ministry of Education).

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  1. Department de Gequímica, Petrologia i Prospecció Geològica, Facultat de Geologia, Universitat de Barcelona, C/ Martí i Franquès, s/n, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Diana Puigserver, Jofre Herrero, Mònica Torres & José M. Carmona

  2. Departament de Productes Naturals, Biologia Vegetal i Edafologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII, s/n., 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Amparo Cortés

  3. Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Permoserstrasse 15., 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Ivonne Nijenhuis & Kevin Kuntze

  4. School of Engineering, University of Guelph, 50, Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Beth L. Parker

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  1. Diana Puigserver
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Correspondence to José M. Carmona.

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Puigserver, D., Herrero, J., Torres, M. et al. Reductive dechlorination in recalcitrant sources of chloroethenes in the transition zone between aquifers and aquitards. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 18724–18741 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7068-4

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